The Bedfordshire Regiment in the Great War |
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Photographs and Biographies from the 6th Battalion
This photograph was published in 'The Wasp' (page 243) and shows the officers of the 6th battalion on Windmil Hill, Salisbury Plain in July 1915, just before they were mobilised to France. Front and centre sits Lt-Colonel H.B. Barclay, who commanded the battalion until his promotion to 23 Army Corps C.O. the following month. |
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Like the photograph above, this also comes from 'The Wasp', showing the Sergeanst of the battalion just before mobilisation. |
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Private 28445 Albert James ADCOCK Albert endured a month in the southern areas of the Somme battlefields, after which he was moved with the Battalion to hold quieter trenches around Loos for two months. After receiving further training for some weeks in offensive operations, Albert went south with the Battalion to take part in the Battle of Ancre in November 1916, and fought in and around Beaumont-Hamel. During an attack three days into the battle that was held up by unbroken belts of German wire, Albert was killed in action on a freezing cold day, in the valley east of Beaumont-Hamel as the Battalion tried in vain to reach and assault German positions on the ridge called Munich Trench. He lost his life on the 16th November 1916 during the British army's final offensive operation of the infamous Somme campaign of 1916. Albert's body was the only Bedford to be recovered and identified in the spring of 1917 when British troops cleared the battlefield having finally won the positions that Albert died fighting to take. Those who were taken back to the casualty areas were buried in Beaumont Hamel and over half of the fallen from that cold winters day have no known grave. Albert Adcock was buried in the Redan Ridge Cemetery, north west of Beaumont-Hamel, where he lies today along with the unidentifiable bodies of many of his comrades. |
Albert
James Adcock was from Shipdham in Norfolk and enlisted into the
British Army very early in 1916 after the age ranges for enlistment
had been raised from 30 to 35, to reflect the growing shortage in
available manpower. He was sent to France in June or July 1916,
where he went through the final phase of training before being ready
to serve in the front line trenches. On the 25th July or 17th August
1916, he arrived in the 6th Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment
as it was stationed west of Albert on the Somme. |
Private 14226 William Herbert O'DELL William fought in the Somme battles of 1916, the Battle of Arras in April 1917 (one of which he was wounded during) and possibly the Third Battle of Ypres in the Autumn of 1917. He was wounded in April 1918 and spent the rest of the war recovering from the wound although by March 1919, he was fully fit again. Whilst he was convalescing he married his wife, whos brother (Private 33056 Benjamin Minney) he had served with in the 6th battalion. The photograph opposite shows William in the 1960's. (My thanks to Melanie Murray for allowing William's biography to appear on the site) |
William
enlisted into the British Army at the end of August or early September
1914 and served in the 6th Battalion for the entire war, being wounded
twice during his service. He arrived in France on the 11th August
1915 and served in every sector of the British lines from Ypres
at the northernmost extreme, through Loos and Arras, to the Somme
at the southern end. |
Private 12913 Harold Arthur CHARGE Harold enlisted into the 6th battalion on the 28th August 1914 and arrived at Le Havre on the 30th July 1915. He had a relatively "quiet" introduction into life in the trenches that saw him serve at Ypres, Loos and on the Somme between August 1915 and July 1916. But when the New Army was put to the test in July 1916 Harold and his colleagues found themselves in the largest battle their country had ever seen - The Battle of the Somme. He survived several actions in July and August, including the horrendous assault against Pozieres on St. Swithen's Day. On the 13th November 1916 British forces launched a surprise attack along the Ancre river valley on the extreme north of the Somme sector. Despite atrocious conditions and casualties they took heavily fortified 1st line positions and Harold and his comrades were called forward to carry the assault on to the German 2nd line trenches, high on the ridge across the valley. On the morning of the 16th November in thick snow, Harold and the 6th battalion marched uphill and in perfect formation, straight into the teeth of the deadly accurate German Machine guns and artillery that soaked the area. Despite their best efforts, the wire had not been cut by the British bombardment and the men simply could not carry their bayonets into the German positions however hard they tried. Harold was one of the 160 plus casualties suffered by the battalion that day and would never serve in the front lines again because of the nature of his injuries. Having been moved back through the medical system, Harold found himself at the 13th General Hospital in Boulogne where he was close to death for some weeks. Nevertheless he survived and recovered enough to serve in the Royal Defence Corps, probably in 1918 and later in the Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps until his service ended in March 1919. By his demobilisation Harold was fit enough to have been capable of training for full military service again, despite the injuries he had received on the cold Somme battlefield two and a half years earlier. He was transferred into the Army Reserves in case hostilities flared up again but was not needed in the end. On the 31st March 1920 Harold Arthur Charge was finally discharged and returned to civilian life once again. (My thanks to Molly Charge for allowing his biography to be included on the site) |
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6th Battalion links Below are links to the other pages with information on the 6th battalion during the Great War:
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